Budapest, September 14 (MTI) – The European Union’s failure to strengthen the protection of its borders could put the freedom of its citizens under threat, government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told public radio on Monday.

Kovacs said border controls need to be reinstated in order to help distinguish refugees from economic migrants.

Responding to criticism aimed at the police for their way of handling migrants, Kovacs said criticising their efforts is “unacceptable and improper”, insisting that Hungary’s police have been “fighting a heroic battle” for the past nine months.

The government spokesman said it has become clear that the Schengen system cannot be protected from within, and peripheral states “need all the help they can get” to protect the zone’s borders. Kovacs said border protection rather than the European Commission’s proposed “pointless and unenforceable” refugee quota system is the “right form of solidarity”.

He said it is hard to predict what will happen once Hungary’s stricter border controls come into effect, adding that “pressure” and “tension” are certain to follow but that the crisis can only be managed “by restoring order”.